After closures, Freeport location is only Beef-a-Roo running in Illinois
FREEPORT — When Rockford-area Beef-a-Roo restaurants went through a chaotic spring that included an abrupt closure and missed payments to local schools, a group of local businesses people in Freeport took an unexpected hit.
The independently owned and operated Beef-a-Roo at 1804 S. West Ave. found itself wrapped up in confusion about whether it was connected to the corporately owned stores in the neighboring county. This summer, the Freeport group didn’t see the increase in sales that typically come with the season. Instead, things went the other way.
“Everybody assumed at that time we were part of it, our sales were dropping and it just got worse from there,” said Sean Lane, who is part of a team of local owners of the Freeport franchise. “It’s getting better and better now that people are realizing that we’re separate and independent, but that did take its toll for awhile.”…